Victorious Panthers lead from start to finish

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University women's basketball team led throughout the entire game and climbed back above .500 for the season defeating the visiting University of Dallas 76-60 Sunday afternoon at the Hutton Center. The Panthers avoided what would have been their first three-game losing streak since the beginning of December.

Pushing Chapman (12-11) ahead in the first minute was a basket by junior G Tara Glennon and the Panthers never looked back. With 3:55 left in the first half, Dallas' Cara Sczepanski cut the Chapman lead to four points with back-to-back field goals making the score 28-24. However, the Panthers closed the half on a 10-0 run, thanks to consecutive three-pointers from sophomore G Mary Petrie and junior G Jenna Nakasu, securing a 38-24 lead over the Crusaders at the intermission.

Led by junior G Simone Ibbotson's team-high 20 points, Chapman extended its lead in the second half to as many as 27 points within the first 10 minutes. Freshman G Emily McCoy scored a pair of field goals, giving the Panthers a 61-34 lead over Dallas. Ibbotson added eight rebounds for the Panthers. Petrie finished with 13 points in 16 minutes off the bench and Glennon had nine points.

Chapman's aggressive defense forced 31 turnovers in the game and limited the Crusaders to just 34.9 percent shooting from the field. Sczepanski led Dallas with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Her teammate Christina Kurt added 19 points off the bench.

The Panthers also got back over .500 at home, improving to 5-4 at the Hutton Center this season. Chapman will be back home on Saturday night Feb. 20 to host La Sierra at 7 p.m.

by Nicole Inal & Doug Aiken
Sports Information Intern & Sports Information Director

Box Score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2009-10/stats/ud-cu.htm